


That 10's Show

by spookierookie



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: BIPOC Characters, F/F, F/M, M/M, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25031782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookierookie/pseuds/spookierookie
Summary: Eric Forman, is just an average teenager with average worries, the biggest right now being how in the hell he's going to tell his parents that he's trans.(Title's a work in progress.)
Relationships: Eric Forman/Steven Hyde
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	That 10's Show

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!! I've been working on this story since I was 16, so roughly 7 years. I obviously haven't been a teenager for about 4 years, now, so sorry if some of my ideas are a bit out of date, but I just had a lot of ideas for this AU that have been nagging me FOR LITERALLY 7 YEARS, that I thought were neato and I wanted to at least give myself the chance to write. I want to unveil all my thoughts on changes to the characters slowly, but while none of it is super spoiler-y, it's just stuff that might make reading future bits of the story less fun, so I'm going to include those in the ending notes.

It was a decent late May afternoon, in Point Place, Wisconsin. The first of it’s kind that year, seeing as last week it had _snowed_. Granted, the snow only lasted a day, as it rose back up to 60 the next day, but the point stands. That’s why Eric Forman found himself hiding out in the basement of his family’s home with his two closest friends, dodging having to make any meaningful conversation with the adults currently stopping around upstairs.

“I’m telling you, man, I could learn to drive whenever I want.”

“Then why don’t you?” Hyde raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into just the slightest hint of a smirk. This was the look that always made Eric’s heart skip a beat. But to be fair, I mean, Hyde looking at you like that would make _anyone_ ’s heart skip a beat. He was tall, not a giant or anything, but he was easily 5’11. He had a flawless complexion, almond colored skin, and beautiful cheek bones. He was, suffice to say, good looking.

“Well why don’t _you_ , Hyde?” Donna shot back. Donna was also gorgeous in her own right. Long legs, a slender frame, and freckles from being out in the sun for too long. Her hair was usually a beautiful auburn, but after a sunny day like today, and helping her dad with the car, it glowed. It reminded Eric of fire.

“Listen, if either of you are willing to pay for me to take the test, I’m more than willing to give it a go.” Hyde fully grinned, “I’ve read that drivers manual back to front, I could pass her in no time.”

Eric rolled his eyes, “Yeah, sure buddy.” It’s not that Eric didn’t believe he could pass, it’s that being behind the wheel and reading a pamphlet were two different things. At least that’s how Eric justified his own anxiety to himself. It didn’t help that, well, he’d have to ask Red to _teach him_ , and there was just… something he’d have to talk to him about first.

All things considered; Red was a decent dad. Maybe a little strict, but what do you expect from ex-military? Especially one with two teenage daughters.

Eric sighed, slumping forward from where he was sitting on the back of the couch, feet placed firmly on the seat. He put his elbows on his knees and his head between his hands. He felt Hyde reach over and clap him on his right shoulder, showing his silent support. Donna scooted closer to him, from her position on the couch. She offered a comforting smile, “something tells me that sighs not about the driving thing?” she tried.

Eric groaned, “I still haven’t told Red. I mean, I think it’ll be a surprise, but he’ll probably be fine? I can’t even begin to think about how mom will react.”

“Eric, your parents love you, man, they’re not gonna be like… assholes about it.” Surprisingly, this one was coming from Hyde. Eric felt a slight twinge of guilt. He knew Hyde’s relationship with his mom has been rocky lately, actually, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d _seen_ Hyde’s mom. He was sure that she was just on another drinking binge, but he knew how much stress that put on Hyde when he had to clean up after her.

Hyde’s situation compared to his made his loving parents seem like a whole load of first world problems.

It made him feel guilty for always whining to him.

Eric was pulled away from his self-loathing thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming down, he looked over his shoulder to see his mom peeking at he and his friends with a mischievous smile. “I just knew you kids were down here! Well, come on up, the food’s ready, and I don’t think I can keep Bob from the potato salad for much longer!” She let out her signature laugh, that could both light up a happy room, and make an awkward room even more awkward, as she made her way back out of the basement.

Donna patted Eric on his thigh a few times, “Welp, looks like I’m gonna have to go hold my dad back. I can’t imagine my mom’s complaining tomorrow if he gets gas from the mayo in the potato salad.”

Eric and Hyde chuckled, watching her make her way up the stairs after Mrs. Forman. Eric turned to Hyde, “Do you wanna take a plate back for your mom?”

Hyde hesitated, his carefully crafted smirk faltering just the slightest bit, but being carefully replaced before Eric could even notice. “Ah.. yeah, I suppose that’d be a good idea. And if ol’ Edna doesn’t show tonight, that means I got a pretty decent breakfast laid out for me tomorrow morning.”

Eric grinned at his friend as they made their way upstairs, he knew it was cheesy, but he always liked when his friends praised his mother’s cooking.

He paused, “Oh shoot, dude, maybe I oughta text Kelso?”

Hyde shrugged, waiting at the top of the stairs. “I think he’s with his new girlfriend.”

Eric grinned, “Hell yeah, man, we should invite her over too.”

Hyde shifted a little, scratching the back of his neck, “I mean….”

Eric’s grin shifted to a look of confusion, “You mean….?”

“She’s nice but…”

“But…?”

Hyde stared at the ceiling, as if the pounding footsteps of Eric’s parents’ guests would give him the words he was lacking.

“just… you’ll see what I mean when you meet her.”

Eric raised an eyebrow, but shrugged, Hyde was a pretty good judge of character, so he wasn’t gonna question him until he at least met the girl.

Hyde smiled easily, gesturing toward the door with his thumb, Eric rolled his eyes and grinned, passing Hyde to go into the party first.

**Author's Note:**

> Slight Spoilers, here.
> 
> Alright, so as you may have guessed, Eric's trans. I got this idea from the ridiculous amount of times Red called him a girl, and thinking "that's outdated" and also questioning my own gender at 16.  
> Hyde is... brown. Just like in canon, his dad is black, and Hyde has not met him yet, but as a BIPOC, myself, I think that it would have been a great time to show a mixed race kid on TV at a time where that wasn't really heard of. (That said the source material is a comedy from the late 90s.)  
> Fez is Native CAUSE I'M NATIVE AND I WANTED TO WRITE A NATIVE CHARACTER GOD DAMMIT. And also in the source material they made several native jokes while also not giving us a native character, and I thought for a second about making him latinx but I don't trust in my ability to write a latinx character in touch with their culture, while I think I could write Hyde, a black character displaced into a white community.  
> Jackie is curvy. Okay, so back when I was a teenager, there was this trend of people being super PC cause it was trendy. I've got nothing against people being PC, and I actually appreciate the empathy and care for other people's feelings. But when it's questionable whether someone actually believes it or not, it rubs me the wrong way. So that's what Jackie's character has come from. She's a curvy white girl trying to mind people's feelings on a superficial level and also being forced to figure out how not to be so superficial (which is a thing I think most teenagers go through.)  
> Donna is very similar to how she is in source, because I quite liked Donna, but I disliked that she was just made for Eric. She had a lot of potential to have amazing character but she turned out... not great, in the final seasons. So I just want to explore more of what her original character was and give her some decent character development.  
> Kelso is an aspie! Now, obviously I'm still gonna make him a pretty boy, but while in the show he was just regarded as pretty much "the dumb guy". I think it was hinted at a lot that he didn't actually have problems academically, but rather socially. As someone on the spectrum myself, I can relate to this kind of character and I just really can't wait to write him.


End file.
